JAMMU: Bajalta and Jagti which are emerging as commercial and residential hubs in periphery of expanding Jammu urban area has become clusters of chaotic growth due to failure of the Jammu Development Authority to check proliferation of illegal colonies as well as unlawful constructions, which are multiplying at alarming scale due to alleged corrupt practices prevailing in enforcement wing.
This unholy nexus of field officials and willful violators has deprived JDA coffers a great deal of revenue in the shape of CLU and building permission fees.
To check illegal colonies and act against buildings being raised in contravention of zonal planning as visualized under Jammu Master Plan-20232, the JDA has deployed enforcement inspectors in areas under its jurisdiction. But the allegations of corruption, which are flying thick and fast against field staff for colluding with violators in shielding illegal constructions in Jagti, Baan and Bajalta, reflect shoddy work of some officials deployed in this area.
Sharing pictures of illegal constructions undergoing in Bajalta area, a local of the area told JK Global News, “Mushrooming growth of unlawful constructions in Bajalta, Jagti, and Baan only shows that the enforcement inspector, namely Ramesh Kumar, enjoys permanent immunity for potentially facilitating or overlooking unauthorized constructions in the area.”
Further blaming the officers and officials of the enforcement wing for encouraging haphazard development in Bajalta and Jagti, he said that these illegal buildings are living examples of corruption prevailing in JDA and cause of revenue loss worth several crores in the shape of CLU and building permission fees.
It is pertinent to mention here that enforcement inspector Ramesh Kumar is also under scanner for not reporting more than 17 constructions that are currently undertaken by willful violators inside a sprawling illegal colony on state land at Karnail Chak in JDA’s jurisdiction. The matter is under the active consideration of VC JDA.
Police officials posted in the area said that it is astonishing to see how these buildings without approved plans were allowed to be raised when the officials of JDA are frequently seen rounding in the area. It seems they earned mastery in milking violators by issuing a few notices that never reached their final destination. Similar is the saga of sitting silence on illegal colonies, which are yet not flagged by the JDA, he added.
Insiders in JDA, confiding anonymity, said, “Rampant illegal constructions in Jagti and Bajalta have become a source of alleged corruption. Files of some buildings that in past were issued notices after media exposes are also missing.”
The enforcement inspectors are entrusted with a job of reporting illegal construction at the inception stage and execute final action within 20 days. However, as a prevalent practice in Bajalta and Jagti, the officials are allegedly turning a blind eye to these illegal constructions and in case of complaints, deliberately slowing down exercise under the COBO Act until violators complete illegal constructions to help them fetch status quo from the court, added reliable sources in JDA.
JK Global News Take: Time and again, the Anti-Corruption Bureau as well as the Administrative Department, Housing and Urban Development, J&K UT has issued advisories and circulars emphasizing proactive action to curb corrupt practices which are leading to large-scale unlawful constructions and illegal colonies in JDA’s jurisdiction. It is astonishing to see that though these circulars instruct functionaries in JDA to prompt action against illegal constructions besides furnishing details of negligent field staff for initiating disciplinary action, the silence of higher-ups in JDA on patronized illegal constructions, which is incurring a loss of revenue worth several crores to the state exchequer, is a million-dollar question. The VC JDA must come clean on this chronic issue.
On being contacted, Pankaj Sharma, Vice Chairman, JDA said that actio under COBO Act will be initiated against every illegal constructions and those patronizing will be taken to task.
(To be continued)